The invention relates to a pocket or clasp knife comprising a handle part and a blade part, which is mounted with its rear end at the front end of the handle part for pivoting about a transverse axis, such that the blade part can be selectively extended or pivoted back against the handle part. A spring bar made of spring material, in particular spring steel, extends in the longitudinal direction of the handle part and is mounted in the handle part so as to be manually pivotable against a spring force about a pivot axis which extends preferably parallel to the transverse axis. The spring bar is provided at its front end with an abutment which cooperates with a counter-abutment at the rear end of the blade part in such a manner that when the blade part is extended the abutment is brought by the spring force into contact with the counter-abutment and the blade part is thereby fixed in the extended position, and in such a manner that the abutment and the counter-abutment can be brought out of contact by manually pivoting the spring bar against the spring force.
In such pocket or clasp knives the abutment on the spring bar is generally formed onto a hook part which extends towards the blade part, said hook part extending into a complementary groove of the blade part under a spring force in the region of the transverse axis, such that the blade part, in the extended position where it is axially substantially aligned with the handle part, is fixed in the two pivoting directions. By manually pivoting the spring bar against the spring force, the hook part is then extracted from the groove, whereupon the blade part can then be pivoted back onto the handle part, where in particular the cutting edge is arranged into a slot-shaped accommodating space.
In known pocket or clasp knives of this kind the spring bar is either pivotably mounted about a transverse axis onto the handle part and is urged by a special spring into the engagement position, or the spring bar can also be connected in a form-locked manner to the handle part at the end region remote from the abutment end and pivoted by means of a special lever under elastic deformation, such that the hook part is raised out of the groove of the blade part. In the last case, the spring bar itself must exhibit corresponding elastic properties.
In any case, the spring bar is accommodated into an elongated slot-type depression of the handle part, which lies directly over the slot-type accommodating space for the blade part. The accommodation of the spring bar in the elongated slot-type depression occurs in any case such that the spring bar can describe the required pivoting displacement when it is urged by hand, so that it is movably mounted in a corresponding manner.
While the provision of a special return spring is expensive and requires the preparation of a further part, subject to disturbances, in the form of the spring, in the case of use of the spring bar itself as return springing member, a special lever must be provided for raising the hook part out of the groove.